Super 4s: Muscle Reboot

Sometimes my body just needs a workout reboot — what better way to do that then to throw it into mass hysteria using Supersets.

When it comes to lifting weights, it’s not just about lifting heavy things and then putting them back down. Several variables — from load to frequency to speed — affect the results of your workout. A huge contributing factor to your workout success is exercise flow, one of my favorite workout flows are Supersets.

The Super 4s: Muscle Reboot workout is a unique, 6-week superset workout. Typically a traditional superset workout will focus on two different muscle group or movements in a circuit pattern. The Super 4s superset workout will include four exercises in each circuit. Each circuit will include two different muscle group exercises, one core exercise and one ab-specific exercise.

What is a superset?

At its most basic definition, a superset is when you do two or more exercises back to back with little to no rest between them. Typically, the exercises work different muscle groups or movement patterns, though not always.

Why should you do supersets?

For starters, they’re a great choice when you’re short on time. Instead of doing an exercise (like squats), then resting, then doing another set, you can alternate exercises and do a second move (say, overhead presses)—one that uses different muscles—during the time that would’ve been allotted for rest.

Supersets are also good for hypertrophy as they help create the ideal environment necessary for muscle building. By using your rest periods to do more work, the dueling exercises in effect serve as active recovery for each other, providing that extra level of both pump and fatigue that trigger muscle growth.

NOTE, because supersetting effectively eliminates rest periods, it’s not the right choice if your goals are to increase muscular strength or power.